WASHINGTON — It's a portrait of a system struggling under its own weight.

Stacks upon stacks of claims forms crammed into a Veterans Affairs office in Winston-Salem, N.C. — so many they could "create an unsafe workspace ... and appeared to have the potential to compromise the integrity of the building."

The photo, with the astounding warning the files exceeded the floor's load-bearing capacity of 17.6 kg per square foot, was found a 2012 inspector general's report of a regional Veterans Affairs office in Winston-Salem.

It was flagged this week by U.S. media covering the growing furor around allegations 40 veterans died while on the waiting lists at a VA hospital in Phoenix, Ariz., and suggestions administrators developed a secret system to hide treatment delays.

The hospital system serves 6.2 million veterans at hundreds of facilities throughout the U.S. — the largest integrated health-care system in the country.

Allegations of preventable deaths and cover-ups at the Phoenix clinic are just the latest in a series of accusations of mismanagement at VA hospitals and backlogs of disability claims nationwide dating back several years.

But the problem crested in Washington this week, with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki called to the carpet before a Senate committee to explain his handling of his portfolio.

Shinseki said he was "mad as hell." He promised action if the allegations proved true, telling reporters: "Talk isn't cheap where I'm concerned."

The White House is standing by Shinseki, a decorated former soldier, with spokesman Jay Carney saying both Shinseki and President Barack Obama recognize the stress the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have placed on the system, and will wait for an inspector general report — due in August — before taking further action.

But by Friday, the scandal claimed its first high-profile bureaucrat, Veterans Affairs under-secretary Robert Petzel, and critics say the clock is ticking on Shinseki's job.

Among those calling for Shinseki's head is the American Legion.

National Commander Dan Dellinger said he's cautiously optimistic the system would get the overhaul it needs, but that Shinseki failed to convince him he could solve the crisis.

The Legion has been flagging problems to Congress for years, he said.

"They've continually tried to put a Band-Aid on things, but not a address the issues. They're always reactive, never proactive."

It's not all bad, Dellinger conceded, noting about 80% of vets the legion spoke with received good care in VA hospitals. Sixty-two "very angry people" spoke at a recent town hall the Llgion held in Phoenix — a hospital that sees over 70,000 patients a year.

"But is it giving the veterans they health care they deserve? No. Not when you're talking about a veteran losing his life waiting for health care," he said.

Acting Insp.-Gen. Richard Griffin is in the midst of a probe into the problems at the Phoenix hospital, with auditors, health inspectors and criminal investigators looking into whether wait list were tampered with and whether there were deaths related to a lack of care.

Griffin said he had a team of 185 working on ever expanding reviews as more whistleblowers come forward.